Making The Most Of The Olympic Spotlight
Denver Broncos Sale. Cricket: The Crown Jewel of Asian Sport. Leveraging Podiums For Your Brand.
On Today’s Agenda:
Denver Broncos Sale
Cricket: The Crown Jewel of Asian Sport
Leveraging Podiums For Your Brand
The Future of the NFL as a Worldwide Sport
Denver Broncos Sale
marcin nowak
A little over two weeks ago, the Pat Bowlen Trust announced that the Denver Broncos are officially up for sale and with that will likely have the biggest price tag in the history of sport in North America.
The Broncos are currently valued at just under $4 billion USD, making it truly a massive sale when the time comes. According to Broncos CEO Joe Ellis, “The Pat Bowlen Trust announced today the beginning of a sale process for the Denver Broncos. We have retained Steve Greenberg of Allen & Company as our financial advisor and Joe Leccese of Prosauker Rose LLP as our legal advisor for this transition of ownership.”
Furthermore, Ellis said that “Selling an NFL team is a complex process involving numerous parties and league approval procedures. Nonetheless, the trustees hope to have the sale completed by the start of the 2022 NFL season.”
Now from one side, this looks like it could be a pretty straightforward deal to a large conglomerate or investor interested in the United States football scene. But no no no, this can be MUCH BIGGER than what everyone thinks.
According to La Marca, English Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur is aiming to continue their ties with the NFL in Europe by placing a MASSIVE bid to host Superbowl MMXXVI (2026). The Spurs already have a 10-year deal with the NFL to host 2 games at the Tottenham Stadium each year and now looking to increase that relationship by hosting the biggest football event of the year. Even the NGL is considering the possibility of taking the Superbowl outside the United States.
Whether or not fans would fly all the way to London, England to watch their teams compete is a different question. Fans probably won’t be too happy, especially since traveling within the US for games is much easier than flying across the Atlantic. However, globalizing the popular North American sport could be perfect for the future growth of the NFL, especially after difficult times in the sports industry throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic.
But this alone isn’t the only thing. In recent years, we’ve seen popular sports organizations expand their portfolio into other leagues and sports. Red Bull own RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, RB Salzburg in Austria, and RB New York in the MLS. In Canada, we’ve recently seen Atletico Madrid from La Liga Santander purchase the Canadian Premier League’s first expansion team: Atletico Ottawa.
We can only imagine the possibility of a European giant like Red Bull or Manchester City owners purchasing the Denver Broncos and re-branding the organization. In the next few years, we could see RB Denver as the next NFL team, and the first branded as part of a European-based organization.
Adding it all together: Denver is up for sale, the Superbowl could be going to Europe, Organizations in European sport are globalizing…. Maybe it's time we see a new team in the NFL, in an NFL that spans across the globe.
How The Indian Premier League Is Primed For The Best Season Yet
Cricket: The Crown Jewel of Asian Sport
pti
Last week, the Indian Premier League (IPL) wrapped up its player auction for the 2022 season. Instead of an entry draft or free agency period like we are used to from North American leagues, the IPL operates differently. At the end of each season, teams select up to four players on their roster to keep for next year. The remaining players are then up for auction, where all teams have the opportunity to use their salary cap (purse) to bid for players and build their roster. It takes the concept of a fantasy keeper league and brings it to life. Before this piece becomes a tangent about how amazing an auction format would be in the NHL, NFL, NBA, or MLB - let’s take a quick look into the business of the IPL, and what is in store for the 2022 season.
The league was first introduced in 2008, playing a format known as Twenty-Twenty (T20) - a more commercialized format of cricket that lasts ~3 hours. The IPL was focused on taking this fast-paced style of cricket and infusing it with entertainment, under the lights and sounds of the Indian audience. 14 years later, the league’s brand value has boomed to $4.7 billion USD, up 7% from last year.
In the COVID era, the IPL has been postponed and relocated for the past two seasons, being played out without a large audience in Dubai and the UAE due to the spread of COVID in India. The brand value took a hit and dropped 13% in 2020. Looking ahead to the 2022 IPL, the league has big plans for their hopeful return to the diehard Indian fanbase.
2022 marks the entry of two new franchises, bringing the league total to ten. Teams in Gujarat and Lucknow (located in the state of Uttar Pradesh). The two states are in the top five TV markets in India, which contributed to the league’s increased brand value. Sponsors see the lucrative opportunities of having a partnership with the IPL - everything from the player of the game, the timeouts, and the scoring is sponsored. The league also has a title sponsor, being referred to as the TATA IPL 2022 on all official league messaging.
With the booming sponsorship opportunities, the most attractive asset the IPL has to sell is its TV rights. Conveniently, the IPL TV rights deal is expiring - and preparations for a bid are underway. Media business leaders in India, including Kunal Dasgupta, believe that the media rights of the IPL will exceed a value of Rs 40,000 crore ($5.3 million USD). The additions of the aforementioned Gujarat and Lucknow franchisees contribute to that figure. Companies including Disney (who own Indian streaming service Hotstar) are part of the media giants that are in the bidding for the IPL’s media rights.
When compared to USD or CAD, the numbers from the IPL seem elementary - minor league level at best for a North American market. However, for a league that has only existed for 14 years, the increase in value year over year is something to watch - and sponsorship deals and assets that the league has boasted for over a decade are important to keep an eye on for North American sports fans. With the NHL and NBA recently introducing equipment sponsorship (e.g. jersey patches) - something that the IPL has sold since its inception, there could be more sponsorship assets on sale in North American leagues that are inspired by the sports entertainment product that puts an emphasis on entertainment.
Making The Most Of The Olympic Spotlight
Leveraging Podiums For Your Brand
tiktok/scotty james
The Olympics are set to end in two days' time it’s evident that most stories from the games usually come from podiums - ranging from Cinderella stories, upsets, or sheer dominance of the sport (s/o Canada’s women’s hockey team). With that being the case, it’s clear that medal-winning athletes have a surge in following. For example, we noticed one athlete in particular, on the Canadian women’s hockey team, jump over 1K followers in two days. The key variable being Canada’s gold medal performance.
But, we’re a sports marketing newsletter first so we aren’t going to talk about hey, if you’re an athlete get on the podium and that’s the only way you’ll be able to grow your brand. It’s for sure one way, but that’s easier said than done and we're in no position to be providing athletes with performance advice (unless it’s rec league soccer on Tuesday, I’m a star).
In The Sport Marketeer issue prior to the Olympics, we provided insight on what we suggest athletes should do to maximize their time in the spotlight. One of our biggest suggestions was athletes leveraging the mediums at their disposal to connect with fans, the best example being TikTok. Every athlete has a phone, which I hope they all know how to use the camera feature and you go from there. If you’re a top athlete providing BTS coverage of a coveted event, it’s the perfect time to prioritize timeliness and relevance over quality.
Let’s look at Australia’s snowboarder, Scotty James. Sure, he was on TikTok prior to the event but he simply made a video to the trend just makes sense, and BOOM. At the time of this article being written it’s amassed more than 5.2M views and almost 2M likes, is that good? Video’s like this are why athletes should be available on social platforms, especially with marquee events on the calendar. Not only, does it allow you to further connect with your current audience but it allows you to leverage the Olympic spotlight.
Scotty’s profile was going to grow with his medal performance, that’s a fact, but his availability and presence on social media prior to the podium is what added jet fuel to the equation. Being 27 years old, he’s unfortunately on the back 9 of his career (a topic we know athletes don’t enjoy having). But the positive note is that, at 27, he was able to capitalize on his Olympic exposure, go viral, and gain a large following on an app, TikTok, that contains the next generation of consumers. Now post-career he can leverage that newfound following on TikTok for potential brand deals, business ventures, or even networking opportunities.
Props to you Scotty.
